By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter
Union members of Ssangyong Motor, the country's smallest carmaker voted Tuesday to bolt from a progressive umbrella union.
About 73 percent of a total of 700 eligible voters, including absentees, favored the disaffiliation from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU). Ssangyong is the first carmaker in Korea to take such action.
Some union leaders claimed the voting was invalid because of technical issues, but the majority of its members agreed to break away from the KCTU.
``When labor disputes erupted, the KCTU blindly pursued confrontation, leaving no room for negotiations,'' a Ssangyong worker said. ``We are fed up with that.''
The vote reflects a schism among unionized workers as a result of the crippling two-month sit-in protest at its factory. The protest was brought to an end when most of the union leaders were taken into police custody, strengthening the voice of management led by two court-appointed legal guardians. The result will also likely help the Seoul Administrative Court okay the company's self-rescue plan that must be submitted by next Tuesday.
The troubled carmaker managed to get back in operation last month, after incurring multi-million dollars in production losses.
The withdrawal also dealt a blow to the KCTU leadership, and could encourage other unions to follow suit.
In July, the nation's largest telephony carrier, KT, dissociated itself from the union, after several smaller unions severed their ties with the umbrella organization.
KT was the KCTU's third largest member with 28,000 members, following automakers Hyundai and Kia.
pss@koreatimes.co.kr